About 3,000 Sunnis murdered the four, beating them and burning their houses down. The incident was recorded on video.

Among those killed was prominent cleric Sheik Hassan Shehata. The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has translated and posted excerpts from an interview with Egyptian cleric Walid Ismail, which aired on Dream 2 TV on June 24, 2013, and a statement made by Egyptian cleric Mazen Sarsawi, which aired on Amjad TV on June 25. Both expressed their satisfaction over Shehata’s murder.

In the interview with Ismail, he says, “The entire Egyptian people is happy at the killing of Shehata. Ask anyone. Hassan Shehata would curse the Prophet Muhammad's companions, and would accuse the Mother of the Believers, Aisha, of fornication.”

Sarsawi is shown explaining that while Egyptians reject “the manner in which [the four] were killed, they are “very happy that they were killed. This is something to be happy about. This is the killing of Allah's enemies, who cursed Allah, His Prophet, and the Prophet's companions.

“We forgive the people who did this to that criminal, because they had been provoked. They did this out of zeal,” he said. “[Shehata] himself and the people behind him bear the responsibility. The criminals who spread this [Shiite] fifth in our country bear the responsibility for this. They provoke the common people.”